AVIA Hires Former UnityPoint CEO Clay Holderman
Digital health services company AVIA has named Clay Holderman its new CEO. Most recently, Holderman served as the president and CEO of Iowa-based UnityPoint Health, a $4.5 billion health system with 17 hospitals.
Chicago-based AVIA bills itself as a digital transformation partner for health systems. For instance, in 2023 it formed a Generative AI Strategic Collaborative, a consortium of health systems and other stakeholders working to develop a comprehensive, actionable strategy for the adoption of generative AI capabilities. AVIA said it was bringing together more than 20 health systems, key industry associations, and government leaders—including Providence, Memorial Hermann Health System, MedStar Health, Geisinger, the American Hospital Association, and others—to produce a board-ready, network-validated expert playbook that will be shared with participating organizations.
AVIA also has developed Medicaid Transformation and Digital Front Door collaboratives.
Current CEO Linda Finkel announced her retirement in November 2024, and will work with Holderman for a transition period. Under the 10 years of Finkel’s leadership, the AVIA Network has grown from four healthcare clients to include more than 50 health systems.
Besides his work at UnityPoint, Holderman has held positions such as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Presbyterian Health Services, one of the largest and most integrated provider-led health plans in the nation with over 800,000 members across Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial insurers. For the past year, he has served as an advisor to private equity firms, including Buckhead Investment Partners of Atlanta and Three Trees Capital Partners of Minnesota.
“Clay has an exceptional track record in leading and transforming healthcare organizations and driving meaningful results,” said Eric Langshur, co-founder and executive chair of AVIA, in a statement. “His deep understanding of health systems, and his expertise, vision, and leadership will be instrumental in advancing AVIA’s mission, making a positive impact on both our team and the organizations we serve. He is uniquely qualified to lead AVIA into our next chapter.”
“Working on the provider side of the equation for the last 30 years and its dynamic landscape, AVIA’s collaborative model is a game changer for health systems – uniting stakeholders across the ecosystem to tackle challenges like care model transformation and AI acceleration,” said Holderman, in a statement. “I’m excited to help build on AVIA’s strengths and look forward to working with the team to continue advancing innovations like AVIA Nexus, which brings healthcare systems, partners and providers together to provide powerful solutions.”
AVIA said its AVIA Marketplace has grown into a vital resource for over 65,000 healthcare leaders across 1,100 health systems, sharing key insights across 16 categories from more than 5,000 digital health companies. The AVIA Venture Forum has facilitated 17 direct investments and supported the efforts of 16 health systems efforts to structure their investment teams, invest in digital health and diversify their revenue during Finkel's tenure.
At the upcoming ViVE conference, AVIA will launch its newest innovation platform – AVIA Nexus, which the firm says leverages AVIA’s Network of partners to solve the most pressing healthcare business challenges, including connected care across facilities and regulatory preparedness in a new environment.
